Letters to the Editor for June 28, 2015

Midland Reporter-Telegram

Published 6:51 am, Monday, June 29, 2015

Banning firearms is not the answer

The naysayers and deniers are already dancing in the blood of the innocent victims of Charleston, South Carolina. Most notably, President Obama and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. We need to ban guns. We can’t have concealed carry or open carry on college campuses or in churches. We need to be able to get the medical records of individuals to see if they are qualified to own a firearm.

Several major fallacies are presented by the aforementioned statements, or arguments against concealed and open carry of firearms across the country. To begin with, these horrific shootings occur in places where concealed and open carry of firearms are prohibited. Churches, schools, college campuses and theaters. These dearanged, homicidal killers do like to commit their heinous acts in a safe working environment for themselves. So banning firearms in more places is not the answer.

This latest, alleged skinhead, segregationist was under felony indictment, which bars him from having any firearms at all. At the very least, his father should be charged with a straw purchase or even as an accessory to nine counts of murder. Even this disturbed individual’s mother knew he shouldn’t have a gun and took it away from him. It wasn’t enough. He stole it back.

HIPPA laws prohibit the release of any medical records for a variety of reasons. That’s federal law. Change it if you don’t like it.

Quite a few of these mass shootings have been stopped by individuals with carry permits being in the right place at the right time. A grandmother told her granddaughter to play dead. I would rather have shot back.

Finally, please say a prayer for the victims, their families and friends, and yes, even the mass murderer.

Dennis Walker

Use of fracturing should be ‘celebrated’

Thank you for publishing the article “Hydraulic fracturing isn’t the root of all evil after all” on June 14. The article was well-done and very informative.

The findings of the EPA report deliver a devastating blow to the anti-fracking crowd who have used the misinformation in the movie “Gasland” to fight oil and gas development. Thankfully, science has weighed in, and the results are overwhelmingly good for the environment and our economy.

We need oil and natural gas to maintain the standard of living we have, and the fact that we can access these resources safely through fracking should be celebrated, not condemned.

I normally don’t say anything about news stories, but this one has me saying “enough is enough.”

I’m sorry that our nation is coming to this. The Confederacy and its flag are a part of United States history. Because someone didn’t like it, we will change history?

I wasn’t old enough to voice my dislike when one person took prayer out of schools. And look at the problems we are having with school. But now I am old enough to voice my opinion. Do not change our history.

I know my great-, great-, great-grandfather had slaves on his plantation in Virginia and he treated them with respect. He also gave them their freedom but they stayed on his ranch to work. And they died there and I have seen their graves.

I went to Lee High School and I will proudly fly the Confederate flag and am proud to be a Rebel from this school.

We should not change history just because someone doesn’t like what went on back then. What is this world becoming?

Barbara Longanecker

Kerrville

Group help amputees deal with loss

I want to thank Marie Almond for writing about her experience with loss after amputation and for being so honest about how incredibly difficult it can be.

I am a certified peer visitor with the Amputee Coalition and am involved with the West Texas Amputee Support Group. We meet once a month and are one of about 300 such groups across the U.S. These groups are an important part of the recovery process and provide a great opportunity for new amputees and their families to connect with others who have overcome similar challenges. As Marie said in her article, “it is OK to talk and express your feelings.”

The West Texas Amputee Support Group is registered with the Amputee Coalition. Both organizations were created to help people with full and partial limb loss make the most of their changed lives. The mission of the Amputee Coalition is to reach out to and empower people affected by limb loss to achieve their full potential through education, support and advocacy and to promote limb-loss prevention. As part of that mission, they offer a program for people to receive peer visits. To learn more about it, call the Amputee Coalition at 888-AMP-KNOW or go to their website, www.amputee-coalition.org/support-groups-peer-support.

I thank Marie for raising awareness about amputations and would be interested in talking to her and others in the Permian Basin who have undergone amputation surgery. They can contact me at 683-3788.